Sunday, September 13, 2009

"We believe it to be one of the strongest lists in recent memory...a span of styles and themes that make this an outstandingly rich fictional mix."*

In short:

Persepolis/Persepolis 2 – Marjane Satrapi.
The first book was wonderful. The second, not so much; she seemed like she was merely capitalizing on the success of the first.

Little Bee – Chris Cleave.
This novel will stick with me for a long time. Little Bee is an enigmatic yet strong character. The story was almost fable-like in its execution, or maybe that’s how I dealt with how disturbing it was.

Harm Done – Ruth Rendell.
The Water’s Lovely – Ruth Rendell.
Rendell is a master. Her mysteries are never about the actual mystery but about being a human.

Dark Places – Gillian Flynn.
Totally unpredictable, unlike Sharp Objects (or maybe I am just not the brightest bulb…). Her character development is much stronger, too, even if the writing is somewhat scattered at times. There ARE unexplained parts, but nothing too nagging. A very satisfying read.

And you know what makes me craziest about this: Longlist announced for Man Booker Prize 2009?
A.S. Byatt’s novel, The Children’s Book, isn’t even available in the States till October.
Bet we could get our hands on the new Dan Brown though.
Sheesh.

**************

*James Naughtie, chair of the Man Booker prize judges (I just wanted to use his name, I admit it.)

7 comments:

ThirdCat said...

Yes, I was surprised to see The Children's Book in a bookshop here the other day.

And how does Ruth Rendell keep doing it? Been reading her books for years and never, ever tire of them.

Bearette said...

hehe...Naughtie.

Amelia Plum said...

i need to read ruth rendell, i haven't read her yet but she's been on my list for forever.

Samantha said...

I read something even more disturbing about Little Bee just the other day - Nicole Kidman has bought the screen rights. I just cannot see her in the lead role let alone missing some fingers!

As to The Childrens Book, I have one word for you: thebookdepository.co.uk :-)

Kathy said...

I really want The Children's Book and to see it on that list and not be able to read it is just killing me!

Totally agree with you about Persepolis/Persepolis 2. Have you seen the movie?

BabelBabe said...

apparently Book Despository won't ship it to the states till after its release date HERE.

ssheers said...

Thanks for reminding me about Ruth Rendell. I'm slowly reading her Wexler series. Because you reminded me, I just read "Sins of the Fathers." The ending was such a surprise although I'm not sure why it was such a surprise because it was the only way the end would make sense. I don't know how she does it.

Now I'm reading the new Dan Brown book. It's fun.